RULES OF PROCEDURE

Title Page 2

Application Page 2

Definitions and Acronyms Page 2

Meetings Page 4

Order of Business Page 6

Minutes Page 7

Business Arising Page 7

Other Business Page 7

Order Page 8

Decorum Page 9

Notice of Motion Page 10

Agenda Items Page 10

Motions Page 11

E-Polls Page 12

Amendments Page 13

Reconsideration Page 14

Rescission Page 15

Miscellaneous Procedures Page 15

Voting Page 15

Petitions and Communications Page 16

Committees Page 17

General Matters Page 19

Schedule A Page 20

Title

1. This By-Law may be cited as the “Rules of Procedure for St. John’s Municipal Council”, hereinafter referred to as the “Rules”.

Application

2. The Rules shall be observed and shall be the Rules of order for the business of St. John’s Municipal Council and committees thereof.

Definitions and Acronyms

3. The following definitions are used throughout the Rules of Procedure:

a. Act – the City of St. John’s Act.

b. Abstain – To formally decline to vote on a motion, typically due to conflict of interest.

c. Advisory Committee - A group of volunteers from the general public who apply and are selected to sit on committees where they provide advice and perspective to Council on matters pertaining to the services provided by the City. They typically report to the Committee of the Whole.

d. Champion - Refers to a member of Council who speaks on behalf of an Advisory Committee, typically advocating for the recommendations put forth by the committee.

e. City Clerk - Reports to the City Manager and is responsible for legislative and administrative support to Council.

f. City Manager - The administrative head of the City of St. John’s, liaising between elected officials and the City’s administrative function.

g. City Solicitor - Provides legal advice to Council and City departments.

h. Code of Conduct - A set of values, rules, standards and principles for staff and elected officials working with the City of St. John’s as set out in the Councillor Code of Conduct By-Law and Municipal Official Code of Conduct By-Law.

i. Committee of the Whole (COTW) - A Committee comprised of all members of Council held in public, typically during the alternating weeks that the Regular Council Meeting is not held.

j. Conflict of Interest - As defined in section 5 of the Municipal Conduct Act SNL 2021 c. M-20.01 and section 2 of the St. John’s Councillor Code of Conduct By-Law.

k. Council - The elected governing body of the City of St. John’s comprised of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, four Councillors-at-large and five ward Councillors.

l. Deputy City Manager - Oversees the administrative function of a City department.

m. E-Poll - Refers to a vote taken outside of a scheduled Council meeting, usually via e-mail, and ratified by Council during the next scheduled Regular Meeting.

n. Experts Panel - A group of volunteers with professional expertise in specific areas. They typically report to the Committee of the Whole.

o. Motion - A formal proposal by a member of Council to act, moved by the proposer of the motion and seconded by another Councillor.

p. Notice of Motion - The notice period, typically one week, required before a motion is brought forth.

q. Presiding Officer - The person who chairs a meeting, usually the Mayor, or the Deputy Mayor acting in the Mayor’s absence, or other member of Council acting in the absence of both Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

r. Previous Question - The motion used to bring the assembly to an immediate vote on one or more pending questions thereby terminating debate and foreclosing the offering of amendments - to bring Council to an immediate vote on the main question.

s. Quorum - The number of Council members required to be present for meeting to proceed, usually 50% plus one.

t. Reflect - In the context of these Rules, to reflect means to raise an issue during a meeting that has already been dealt with via an approved motion. To reflect on a motion is out of order.

u. Regular Meeting - The bi-weekly public Council meeting. For the purposes of these Rules, Regular Meeting may include COTW if applicable, but the Rules for COTW or any committee meetings may be relaxed by Council (or the Chair).

v. Rescind - To revoke or cancel a motion.

w. Robert’s Rules of Order - The standard guide for meeting rules created by General Henry M. Robert in 1876, currently in the 12th edition.

x. Senior Executive Committee - A committee comprised of the City Manager, Deputy City Managers and City Solicitor.

y. Sergeant at Arms - An official whose duty it is to maintain order and security during Council meetings.

z. Special Meeting - The weekly privileged meeting held to discuss issues of a private or privileged nature as outlined by the Code of Conduct.

aa. Terms of Reference - These are the guidelines for conducting Advisory Committees, Experts Panels and working groups, outlining the purpose, composition and rules of procedure for each committee.

bb. Working Group - A group of volunteers from the public who apply and are selected to sit on working groups that are specific to a function or mandate. They typically report to the Committee of the Whole.

cc. Staff Lead – staff member on a committee who coordinates the City’s participation on the committee.

Meetings

4. Council may from time to time by resolution prescribe the day and time for each Regular Meeting.

5. For the consideration of the general business of the City, Regular Meetings shall occur bi-weekly, with COTW meetings on the weeks a Regular Meeting does not occur. The weekly meetings of Council are suspended during the months of July and August.

6. Every meeting of Council shall be directed by a Presiding Officer who shall be:

a. the Mayor, or;

b. the Deputy Mayor, if the Mayor is absent, or;

c. if both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are absent, the members of Council present shall elect a member of Council to act as Presiding Officer.

7. A Special Meeting may be called at such times as the Mayor may deem necessary, or on the written request of three members of Council, or the written request of the Senior Executive Committee. Special Meetings shall not be public and shall only be called for those matters addressed in s. 90 of the Councillor Code of Conduct By-Law, and as set out in Schedule A of these Rules.

8. Twenty-four hours’ notice shall be given for every Regular Meeting and Special meeting. Council may hold additional meetings from time to time to deal with urgent City matters and formal notice is not required in these circumstances.

9. A majority of the members of Council constitutes a Quorum for the purpose of a meeting:

Council Present	Simple Majority	Two/Thirds Majority*
11	6	8
10	6	7
9	5	6
8	5	6
7	4	5
6	4	4

10. Five (5) minutes prior to the appointed hour of a Regular Meeting, the City Clerk shall cause the Chamber bells to be rung and the Mace shall be placed in the Council Chamber by the Sergeant at Arms upon commencement of the Regular Meeting.

11. All members of Council are expected to attend meetings in person but may attend remotely if there are extenuating circumstances such as childcare issues, sickness, travel, or as otherwise deemed acceptable by the Mayor, Councillors must provide advance notice and reason for their intention to attend remotely to the Mayor and City Clerk. The use of cameras by those attending remotely is strongly encouraged.

12. Remote attendance shall use appropriate technology that enables Council full access to meeting materials and in-person or other remote presentations. Remote attendees must have the ability to deliberate fully with all who attend in person or other remote attendees so that all in attendance can clearly hear, be heard and vote.

13. Should communication be lost with one or more remote attendees, the Mayor may call a ten minute recess to re-establish the link. If the link cannot be re-established within a reasonable period of time, the remote attendee(s) are deemed to have left the meeting. Should a Quorum be lost as a result, the meeting shall be adjourned.

14. (a) Council may by two/thirds majority vote to reduce or eliminate remuneration pursuant to the Act for any Councillor who fails to attend Regular Meetings, Special meetings or COTW for 3 successive months without an up-to-date medical note from a physician licensed with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador or a medical professional such as a psychologist who is licensed in accordance with the appropriate governing body.

(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a Councillor who is absent for 3 successive months due to parental leave commenced during pregnancy or within 1 month of birth or adoption. For the purposes of this Rule, “parental leave” means a leave of absence by a member of Council due to (i) the pregnancy of the Councillor; (ii) the birth of a child of a Councillor; or (iii) an adoption of a child by a Councillor.

15. If there is a Quorum present for a Regular Meeting, the Presiding Officer shall call the meeting to order.

16. If there is no Quorum present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the Regular Meeting, the City Clerk or Acting City Clerk shall call the roll and take down the names of Council then present, and the meeting shall stand adjourned until the next Regular Meeting if the meeting is not rescheduled.

17. (1) Following the call to order, the Presiding Officer may welcome guests or delegations to the Regular Meeting and speak to and witness the signing of proclamations. Any proclamation requests to be signed during a Regular Meeting requires the prior approval of the Office of the City Clerk.

(2) Following the dispatch of the proclamations/presentations the Presiding Officer shall call for a motion to adopt the agenda as circulated. At this time members of Council may propose amendments to the Agenda including the Order of Business.

(3) Following the adoption of the agenda as circulated or as amended, the Presiding Officer shall call for a motion to adopt the Minutes of the previous meeting. Following adoption, with or without amendment, the Minutes shall be signed by the Presiding Officer and the City Clerk.

Order of Business

18. (1) For each Regular Meeting, the City Clerk shall prepare the order of business as follows:

1. Call to Order

2. Proclamations/Presentation

3. Approval of the Agenda

4. Adoption of the Minutes

5. Business Arising from Minutes

6. Development Applications

7. Ratification of E-Polls

8. Committee Reports

9. Development Permits List (For Information Only)

10. Building Plans (For Information Only)

11. Requisitions, Payrolls and Accounts

12. Tenders

13. Notices of Motion, Written Questions and Petitions

14. Other Business

a. Other Items Added by Motion

b. Community Updates by Members of Council

15. Adjournment

(2) When a Special Meeting is called, the order of business provided by this section shall not apply. Council shall proceed at once to the consideration of the matter or matters for which the Special Meeting was called.

Minutes

19. The Minutes of Regular and Special Meetings shall contain:

(a) All resolutions and motions addressed;

(b) Mentions of reports, petitions and other documents of records submitted to Council by their respective titles, or by a brief description of their purport, except accepted reports, which shall be included as an attachment in the agenda,

(c) Corresponding Minutes of preceding meeting.

If there is any objection made to the Minutes of the preceding meeting, the member making it shall state the grounds of their objection without comment, and if Council agrees, then the Minutes shall be altered accordingly, but without debate. If all the members do not agree to the proposed alteration, then a motion must be duly made and seconded to amend the Minutes to meet the objection, which shall then be debatable.

Business Arising

20. (1) Immediately after the Minutes have been passed, the Presiding Officer shall ask if there is any business arising out of the Minutes to which a member wishes to speak. A member who wishes to speak shall first specifically identify in the Minutes the matter to which they wish to speak. Where the matter raised by the member is included in another part of the agenda the Presiding Officer may defer consideration of the matter until the appropriate place in the agenda.

(2) Discussion on items arising from the Minutes shall be limited to matters relevant to City business.

Other Business

21. Matters added to the Agenda by amendment to the motion to adopt the Agenda as circulated shall be considered under Other Business. No member of Council shall speak for more than five (5) minutes on all items raised under Other Business, provided however, that this time limit may be extended by two (2) additional minutes with the consent of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Council present at the meeting.

Order

22. The Presiding Officer at any meeting shall preserve order during any debate and maintain decorum of the Chamber at all times.

23. (1) The decision of the Presiding Officer on all points of order is final, subject to an appeal by a Councillor. Any member of Council may raise an appeal on a point of order decided by the Presiding Officer.

(2) On an appeal, the Presiding Officer may explain the reason for their decision on the point of order and following that explanation shall immediately put the question that their decision be upheld;

(3) There is to be no debate on an appeal made under this section nor on any subsequent motion put forth by the Presiding Officer to uphold such appeal.

24. When the Presiding Officer is called upon to decide a point of order or practice, the point shall be stated without unnecessary comment.

25. The Presiding Officer may call any member of Council to order at any time, and any member may raise a point of order.

26. If a member of Council is called to order while debate is in progress, the debate shall be suspended and the member called to order shall not speak until the point of order has been stated and determined by the Presiding Officer, unless the Presiding Officer allows the member called to order to provide an explanation.

27. If two or more members of Council attempt to speak at the same time, the Presiding Officer shall name the member who, in the opinion of the Presiding Officer has right of precedence.

28. A Councillor may speak:

(a) Up to 5 minutes for the first time on any motion;

(b) Up to 2 minutes for the second time on any motion, but only after all other Council Members present at the meeting have had an opportunity to speak;

(c) Up to 5 minutes on any amendment on the motion;

(d) For an additional 5 minutes to close debate if the Council member is the member who moved the motion; and

(e) For additional time to those set out in this section only if the member has the approval of 2/3 of the Council members present at the meeting.

29. Subject to section 23 herein, any member of Council may, through the Presiding Officer, request the opinion of the City Solicitor or City Clerk on any question of order under discussion at the meeting.

30. When considering Other Business, the Presiding Officer shall have precedence in bringing before Council such matters as the Presiding Officer deems expedient.

Decorum

31. A member of Council or employee when speaking shall confine themselves to the question under debate and shall not refer to the Presiding Officer, nor to any member of Council or employee, except in a respectable manner.

32. When a member of Council or employee is speaking or a question is being put, no member or employee shall hold any private discourse, stand or make any noise or disturbance, or interrupt a speaker, except to raise a point of order, ask for an explanation or leave the chamber.

33. While the Presiding Officer is putting a question to Council, no one shall walk across or out of the Council Chamber or make any noise or disturbance or hold any private discourse.

34. No member of Council shall Reflect upon a motion that was carried, except for the purpose of moving that such vote be rescinded or reconsidered in accordance with these Rules.

35. (1) A member of the public who is in the public gallery of the Council Chamber shall stand or sit quietly during the Council meeting and shall not display signs, demonstrate, speak or otherwise interfere with Council during the Council meeting.

(2) The Presiding Officer may order a person who is in breach of subsection (1) to leave the Chamber and if that person refuses to do so may order the person to be removed from the Chamber.

(3) A member of the public who refuses to leave Chambers upon being requested to do so or has interfered with the deliberations at a previous meeting of Council shall not be granted access to the Chamber without Council’s consent.

36. The Presiding Officer may expel and exclude from a Regular Meeting or COTW any member of Council or other person who has acted inappropriately at such meeting, and in the case of the exclusion of a member of Council, an entry shall be made in the Minutes of the reason for such exclusion.

37. (1) If any member of Council or other person uses insulting or improper language to the Presiding Officer or anyone and refuses to apologize when so directed by the Presiding Officer, or willfully obstructs the conduct of business, they may be ordered by the Presiding Officer to retire from the Chamber for the remainder of that meeting.

(2) In addition to the powers granted to the Presiding Officer under subsection (1), Council may, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, exclude a member of Council from Council and its committees for a term of expulsion not to exceed thirty (30) days.

(3) A suspension of a Councillor under subsection (2) shall be without pay for the period of the suspension.

38. Where a member of Council is ordered to retire from the Chamber under section 37 and they refuse to do so, the Presiding Officer may order the member to be physically removed from the Chamber and City Hall. Alternatively, the Presiding Officer may declare for the purpose of the meeting, that the offending member is not present and shall not be recognized by the Presiding Officer nor shall they have any right to participate in any discussion, debate or vote for the remainder of that meeting.

39. Council may, by majority vote, exercise the authority of the Presiding Officer under sections 36, 37 and 38, where the Presiding Officer does not exercise their authority under these sections, or the Presiding Officer themselves commit the conduct referred to in sections 36 or 37.

40. Any member of Council removed from the Chamber or declared to be not present may be permitted to resume their duties or be recognized as present, by a majority vote of the meeting in progress upon making an apology to the Presiding Officer and to Council.

Notice of Motion

41. Except for a Notice of Motion to Reconsider which is required under these Rules to be given prior to the end of the Regular Meeting or Special Meeting in which the motion was passed, for every motion which requires prior written notice, the Notice of Motion shall be delivered to the City Clerk in time for preparation of the Agenda for the meeting, and all such notices of motion for any meeting shall be placed in the Order of Business for the meeting.

Agenda Items

42. The Presiding Officer, when dealing with the business of the agenda shall identify the item under consideration, may invite a member of Council or members of Council to provide background information or clarification of a question, however, no debate shall take place until such time as a motion has been properly moved and seconded.

Motions

43. All motions must be moved and seconded before any debate is permitted. Neither the mover nor the seconder of a motion is required to vote in favour of the motion.

44. When a motion has been moved and seconded, it cannot be withdrawn except with the permission of Council and the mover and seconder, and then only before decision or amendment thereof.

45. Any motion or question which contains several distinct propositions may, by the direction of the Presiding Officer, or upon the request of any member of Council, be divided, and the vote on each proposition shall be taken separately. If a motion cannot be so divided the division shall be declared out of order by the Presiding Officer.

46. Any member of Council may have the motion under discussion read by the City Clerk at any time during the debate on the same, but not so as to interrupt another member speaking.

47. When the Presiding Officer is of the opinion that a motion which they have received and read is contrary to these Rules, the Presiding Officer shall apprise Council, and cite the Rule or authority applicable.

48. Subject to the provisions of the Act with respect to written notice of motion, and, unless otherwise decided by a majority of the members of Council present at the meeting, the Presiding Officer shall not permit debate or a vote on a substantive motion which has not been presented in writing to the City Clerk in time for preparation of the Agenda. All such motions should be accompanied by pertinent background information for members of Council to make an informed decision.

49. When a question is under debate the following non written motions shall be in order:

a. To refer or commit;

b. To lay on the table;

c. To postpone indefinitely or to a day certain;

d. To move the previous question;

e. To amend.

50. A motion to refer or commit a matter under discussion shall preclude all amendments of the main question until it is decided. The purpose is to send a matter to another group for consideration or further information, usually to staff or to a committee. It is debatable as to the desirability of referral or committal and not to the merits of the main question.

51. A motion to lay on the table allows Council to temporarily set aside a pending motion to deal with an urgent matter or when something needs to be addressed before consideration of the pending question can resume. It is not debatable.

52. A motion to postpone indefinitely or to a day certain is debatable but debate shall be limited to what is necessary for Council to decide whether the main motion should be postponed and to what date and shall not go into the merits of the main question.

53. The previous question is the motion used to bring Council to an immediate vote on one or more pending questions. It immediately closes debate and stops amendments of the immediately pending questions. If the motion is resolved in the affirmative, the original question shall be put forthwith without any amendment or debate. If such motion be resolved in the negative, the main question may then be decided and amended.

54. A motion to close debate requires a two-thirds vote of members present.

55. A motion to adjourn the Council meeting or the debate shall always be in order, except when:

a. a member of Council is addressing the Presiding Officer;

b. a vote is being taken; or

c. it has been decided that the previous question shall be taken.

56. A motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting or to adjourn the debate, cannot be amended and is not debatable, but a motion to adjourn the Council meeting or the debate to a given day, may be amended and is open to debate.

57. No second motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting or the debate shall be made until some intermediate proceedings have been had.

E-Polls

58. The conditions under which an E-Poll is conducted must be restricted to the following parameters:

a. To deal with matters of an urgent nature as deemed and authorized by the Mayor, the City Manager and/or their designate;

b. A decision note comprehensively outlining the background and proposed recommendation (motion) must be circulated to all members of Council before an E-Poll is conducted;

c. Only one matter at a time shall be considered and should be simple in nature;

d. A Quorum of Council (at least six councillors) is required for passing of any E-Poll; and time restrictions may be imposed given the urgency of such e-poll;

e. If unanimous consent of the Quorum (at least six votes within the timeframe outlined) is not achieved, the matter shall be referred to the next regularly scheduled council meeting or an emergency meeting may be scheduled to discuss the proposed motion;

f. All votes conducted via E-Poll must be validated by public ratification at the next scheduled Regular Meeting;

g. Public ratification does not preclude prior action from being taken on the motion as authorized by the results of the E-Poll;

h. Should a member of council who has not voted during the E-Poll phase or who wishes to change their vote during public ratification, must at the end of the same meeting put forth a motion to reconsider as outlined in Section 66 of the Rules. The motion for reconsideration may be out of order if the direction from the E-Poll has resulted in irreversible action already being taken.

Amendments

59. Except as provided herein, an amendment to the motion shall always be in order. Only one sub-amendment shall be allowed to an amendment.

60. An amendment to a motion can take the form of an addition, a partial deletion, or a substitution of selected words, but not the entire motion. An amendment must be relevant to the substance of the motion, but may be contrary to its purpose, however, it must not convert the motion into its direct negative, or to make it identical to another previously decided motion.

61. The following procedures apply to all amendments:

a. an amendment must be properly moved and seconded;

b. an amendment can only be moved when the motion to be modified is under active consideration;

c. an amendment must not introduce a new substantive issue which is properly the subject of a separate substantive motion;

d. an amendment cannot be applied to a sub-amendment;

e. there is no limit to the number of successive amendments or sub-amendments that can be applied to a motion, provided only one of these is under active consideration at any one time.

62. Every amendment shall be decided or withdrawn before the main question is voted on.

63. Amendments and sub-amendments shall be put in the reverse order to that in which they are moved (i.e. the last amendment is dealt with first and the main motion is dealt with last).

64. The Presiding Officer when putting an amendment shall first read the question as it appears in the main motion, then the proposed amendment, and finally the question as it would be if the amendment is carried.

65. All recommendations contained in the Council agenda, either directly from City staff or via committee reports, must be dispersed via motion moved and seconded in the affirmative, exactly as the recommendation appears in the agenda and without amendment. Council then has the option to either vote against the main motion or move and second an amendment to the main motion.

Reconsideration

66. Subject to condition set forth in this section, any question whether made in the affirmative or negative, except one of indefinite postponement, may be reconsidered, if the minority vote on such question is not less than two of the members of Council present and voting on the original motion. The purpose of reconsideration is to permit correction of hasty, ill-advised, or erroneous action, or to take into account added information or a changed situation that has developed since taking the vote A count of votes cast for or against shall determine the minority vote:

a. A motion of reconsideration must be given prior to the adjournment of the meeting at which the question was decided;

b. The motion to reconsider must be taken up at the meeting at which the question was decided or at the next Regular Meeting thereafter by the member of Council who made the motion, or in their absence by any other member of Council on their behalf and with their consent;

c. If the motion is seconded, it shall be debatable only if the original motion that is being reconsidered is debatable, but regardless, the member of Council moving for reconsideration may have the privilege of stating their reasons for the reconsideration;

d. If the motion to reconsider is carried by a majority, the main question shall then be read and will be open to debate the same as an original motion and disposed of by a majority vote;

e. No question shall be reconsidered more than once within six (6) months without the unanimous consent of the Council present, nor shall a vote to reconsider be reconsidered;

f. A motion to reconsider is not amendable;

g. Every motion of reconsideration shall be declared defeated unless the majority of members of Council present vote for it;

h. No action shall be taken to carry into effect the main motion until after the motion to reconsider has been disposed of.

Rescission

67. To rescind is to nullify a decision or action that cannot be changed by a motion to reconsider. Its purpose is to cancel, or make void, the results of a motion previously passed. However, motions may not be rescinded if irreversible actions have already been taken based on passing of the motion previously. A motion to rescind is not retroactive. Any actions emanating from the original motion remain valid.

68. No motion to rescind a regulation or by-law shall be allowed unless notice of the intention to rescind has been given previously in writing at a meeting of Council. The notice period cannot be waived.

69. A motion to rescind is a substantive motion and is in order only when there is no other main motion pending. It is debatable and may be amended, but only as to the portion of the decision to be rescinded.

Miscellaneous Procedures

70. To expunge from the records the proceedings of a meeting, or any part thereof, requires a unanimous vote.

71. A motion to suspend Rules requires a two-thirds vote of Council.

72. When a blank in a motion is to be filled in, or where different sums or times are proposed, the question shall be taken first on the largest sum or the longest time.

73. Whenever any matter of privilege arises it shall be taken into consideration immediately by Council.

Voting

74. No member of Council shall be permitted to vote or speak upon any question before Council, or before any Committee, where they are in a conflict of interest in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

75. Before putting any question to a vote, the Presiding Officer shall state the question clearly and ask the Council if it is ready for the question. If there is no discussion on any question, the vote will be electronically cast.

76. Subject to these Rules any member may at any time move that the order of business be suspended to permit them to introduce a motion, and Council by a majority vote may grant such permission.

77. (1) A motion or resolution before Council shall be decided by a majority vote of Council in attendance at the meeting except where a two-thirds vote of the members of Council is required.

(2) A member of Council shall not abstain from voting on a motion or resolution before Council unless they are required to abstain due to a conflict of interest under the Code of Conduct or they have been permitted to abstain by a majority vote of the other members of Council in attendance at the meeting.

(3) Where a member of Council abstains from voting on a motion or resolution, a decision shall not be made on that motion or resolution unless the number of the members of Council in favour of the motion or resolution is a majority.

(4) The minutes of a Council meeting shall indicate the names of the members of Council who vote for and against and who abstain from voting on a motion or resolution.

Petitions and Communications

78. Every petition or motion for consideration by Council shall be presented by a member of Council who shall examine, present, and endorse the petition with their name, and be answerable that it does not contain any impertinent or improper matter.

79. Petitions must be plainly written, typed or printed and signed by at least one person.

80. It is unnecessary to read anything other than the title, by-law, regulation, resolution, petition, and/or any report or other document of which a copy has been furnished to Council unless the Presiding Officer directs or the majority of Council present request, that such document shall be read.

81. No member of Council shall speak upon, except to briefly explain, the purpose of a petition, nor shall a debate be allowed upon the tabling of a petition.

82. Petitions or other papers connected with public departments shall be referred to the appropriate department or to a committee appointed by Council without motion.

Committees

83. The Council may from time to time appoint committees.

84. The Mayor shall be an ex-officio voting member of all committees, except the Senior Executive Committee.

85. A majority of the members of any committee shall constitute a Quorum.

86. a. Unless otherwise required by law, when Council appoints a committee or a variation thereof such as a standing committee, Advisory Committee, Experts Panel or working group, it shall, as the applicable Terms of Reference permit, appoint at least one of the members of Council to act as Champion on behalf of the committee. Where applicable, the role of Champion is clearly specified within the Terms of Reference for each committee. Members of Council do not partake in committee discussions. When Council appoints a committee, it shall also approve the recommended appointment of Chair as elected by the committee. When a by-law, petition, notice or report is to be presented to Council upon recommendation of a committee it shall be presented by the Champion or member of Council who is responsible for the portfolio under which such committee falls.

b. Except as may be otherwise provided, committee appointments shall be for a term of two (2) years with an optional two-year renewal;

c. Unless Council determines that special circumstances exist, no member of Council shall be appointed for more than four (4) consecutive years on a committee;

d. Wherever possible, committee appointments shall be made or staggered in such a manner as to provide for continuity;

e. Except as may be otherwise provided for by law, the appointment provisions shall apply to appointments made by Council to all committees, commissions, boards or other such groups.

87. When the subject matter of a committee report is presented to Council, but the form in which it is introduced is considered defective or the subject matter inadequately dealt with, Council may, on a majority vote without debate, recommit the report with or without instructions.

88. The City Clerk shall provide a legislative assistant for each committee who will record the minutes of each meeting, and these minutes shall be read or confirmed at each meeting and disposed of in same manner as the minutes of Regular Meetings.

89. Following every committee meeting, the legislative assistant shall prepare for the Chair, a report on all matters arising therefrom which require Council action. Prior to the next meeting of the committee, the legislative assistant shall prepare complete minutes of the previous meeting for submission to, and confirmation by, the committee. These minutes shall then be signed by the Chair.

90. The following rules and regulations shall apply to the proceedings in committee:

a. The Chair shall preside at every meeting and sign all documents and orders.

b. The Chair may vote on all questions submitted and in case of an equality of votes on any division the question shall be negative.

c. In the absence of the Chair one of the members shall be elected to preside and discharge all duties competent for the Chair to discharge, during the Chair's absence.

d. All motions will be required to be seconded before a vote.

e. The number of times a member may speak shall be limited to once per item but may be expanded by majority vote of Committee.

f. No member of a committee shall be permitted to vote or speak upon any question before the committee, where they are in a Conflict of Interest as set out in the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Official Code of Conduct.

91. When a committee motion is passed but not unanimously, the votes of the members shall be recorded, if requested by any member.

92. Members of a committee dissenting from a matter which has been adopted by the majority of such committee may make and present to Council a minority report, which must be presented at the same meeting of the Council to which the majority report is submitted and signed by the dissenting member or members.

93. The report or recommendations of a standing committee of Council may be presented in total without the necessity of reading the entire report, provided however, that any member of Council may question any or all portions of the report or recommendations.

94. A special committee shall be considered discharged on acceptance of a final report therefrom.

General Matters

95. Nothing herein shall prevent the Mayor or Presiding Officer from addressing Council on any matter nor from exercising any of the powers and duties of the Mayor under the Act or where any rule, regulation, by-law or resolution made pursuant to the Act.

96. In all cases where these Rules and regulations do not make provision or adequate provision, then and then only shall Roberts Rules of Order apply.

97. The Rules and Regulations Governing Procedure of meetings of the St. John's Municipal Council and of Committees thereof passed by Council on March 2, 1992 and all amendments thereto and all other rules and regulations respecting procedure at Council meetings are hereby repealed.